Government support for devastating floods in Cumbria and Lancs to reach over £60 million

An announcement on the 9th of December by the Chancellor revealed that a further £51 million would be made available to support those affected by the devastating floods in Cumbria and Lancashire earlier this month – taking the total support offered by the government to over £60 million.

This money will help those affected in 5 key ways, including:

1 – Providing Local Authorities with money to assist people directly affected by the floods. This is likely to include a payment of over £500 to each household affected. The money is to be used for temporary accommodation or similar.

2 – Supporting and encouraging people to protect their homes against future damage by providing grants of up to £5,000 to be used to install new flood barriers, replacement doors & windows and/or move electricity sockets to a higher and safer level.

3 – Aiding affected businesses that have had their trading disrupted by the floods to get back up and running. Funding equal to £2,500 per business affected will be provided to the Local Authorities.

4 – Helping the areas of Cumbria and Lancashire assess what damage has been done to the local highway network, so that an idea of what additional local transport and infrastructure funding is required to repair damaged roads and bridges can be formulated.

5 – Bringing existing local flood defences back up to their target conditions with the aid of an additional £10 million invested through Environment Agency

In a bid to ensure that this funding is delivered as quickly and as efficiently as possible, the government is creating a new Community Recovery Scheme worth almost £40 million. The scheme will be run by local authorities and provide support on the same basis as for the floods in the South West and other parts of the UK in 2013 and 2014.

As well as the above, the government have pledged to match the money raised by the Cumbria Foundations Flood Appeal up to £1 million, as they are aware of the important work being carried out by charities in response to the floods.

The latest announcement comes after previously pledged support by the government, which included:

The Environment Secretary announcing that the government had opened the Bellwin scheme for local authorities affected by floods, and that 100% of eligible costs above the threshold will be met by the government.

The Communities and Local Government Secretary announcing business rates and council tax relief for the affected communities.